In April, we have original articles related to money and markets. Documentary filmmaker and author John de Graaf writes about the well known ecological economist Herman Daly. Please note that John de Graaf is currently directing a documentary about the life of Herman Daly. Barbara McMichael compares Arkansas native son Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan to Vincent Van Gogh. The two artists shared a plight that too many artists everywhere can recognize—they had to wait until they were dead to have their art appreciate in value. Dialing for Dollars is a stab at the elite who play by different rules in the Publishing World. April is National Poetry month. Barbara Ruth Saunders has honored us with her poem, “Semiquincentennial Lament.” Our featured Art is a New Deal Mural by Philip Guston. What is more important than putting Food On The Table? ––Patricia Vaccarino
Prophet For Our Times: Herman Daly's Challenge To Economic Growth by John de Graaf The least challenged tenet in the field of economics is that growth is good. Nearly all political parties brag about their ability to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP. What if unbridled economic growth is a false narrative? And what if it’s actually making things worse? Herman Daly was one of the first economists to challenge unchecked growth. Photos of Herman Daly are courtesy of Peter Victor and Greg Davis.
Accomplished artist, failed capitalist: Arkansas’s “Van Gogh” by Barbara McMichael There are many other cultural gems to be discovered in Arkansas, and a good argument can be made that one of the most dazzling that can be seen right now is at the Historic Arkansas Museum in downtown Little Rock. That’s where a posthumous exhibit of the artworks of Little Rock native son Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan is on display. Photos of Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan and his art are “Courtesy of the Kuimeaux Project.”
Dialing For Dollars by Patricia Vaccarino Enter the Sweepstakes to get a big book deal with The Dial Press. But keep in mind that you must have a whole lot of money to be a contender.
Semiquincentennial Lament by Barbara Ruth Saunders April is National Poetry month. Barbara Ruth Saunders has honored us with her poem “Semiquincentennial Lament,” which is a decidedly poignant interpretation of the new red, white and blue.
Dictator’s Playbook by David Esler Moldering on my refrigerator door is a browned 3-by-4-inch newsprint clipping of a single frame from Max Fleischer’s animated cartoon “KoKo’s Earth Control,” dated (c.) 1928. In the frame, KoKo the clown is lecturing his dog Fitz about the huge lever imbedded in the wall behind him below a sign proclaiming, “Danger, beware, do not touch earth control! If this handle is pulled, the world will come to an end!”
Food On The Table by Patricia Vaccarino New Deal Art captures a time when America was in the throes of the Great Depression. The Family depicted in this mural is disconnected, weary, and full of despair. Even the baby’s eyes are hugely sad. The father might not know where to get his next job, and the mother is overwhelmed by trying to make ends meet. There isn’t much food on the table to feed a family.
Trump and the Roman Crassus Share the Same Hubris by Nick J. Licata Two thousand years separate the Roman Marcus Licinius Crassus in his failed attempt to invade Iran from President Donald J. Trump’s faltering current military effort. Trump’s invasion of Iran and the ill-fated battle led by the Roman General Crassus against Parthia are similar. Both men thought a superior military would give them a slam-dunk win.
Book Review: Monetizing Jesus by Glen Randall Bell, PhD In his famous parable of the wheat and chaff, Jesus clearly differentiated between the children of God, or the good seeds, and the chaff, who are the wicked among us. In Monetizing Jesus, by Glen Randall Bell, PhD, he gives us the tools of discernment so we can clearly separate the wheat from the chaff. –Patricia Vaccarino
We Are At War by Annie Searle The net effect is the gathering sense that America, under this president is not, and cannot be a reliable ally, or source of just and reasonable guidance in a world in urgent need of it. There is no comfort in the fact that our president has put himself, and thereby all of us, in a no-win situation.